The Green Lantern

"Falling to the ground
I watch a leaf settle down
In a bed of brown"

Fall is here and I have started to get the garden ready for the transformation. I was hoping to get the signs that my daughter brought back from Taiwan mounted (they contain the name of the garden in Chinese characters), but will probably have to wait until spring - that is when I will hold an official naming ceremony. Until then, you will have to wait for the name. 

However, I was able to get the cover for the electric meter completed. It has taken many weeks of planning, cutting, painting, and assembly. I wanted to cover what was an ugly eyesore in the patio/garden area. The meter was a typical electric meter - gray box with cables and a pipe running into the ground (its an underground cable out to the street). 

Meter in the back during gate construction in 2012

I hadn't touched it for years, but always wanted to do something about it. 

This summer I began looking at Japanese lantern designs and decided to build a box that was inspired by some of these traditional styles. Here are some examples I found on the web:

 

I then devised a plan that would work up against the house - a sort of one sided lantern.

My biggest concern was creating a foundation so the structure would not be directly on the ground. I used some rocks from my unused rock pile. I then had to think about how to keep insects and other living things from making a home out of the space within. I used some outdoor waterproof foam to seal up the base and then a clear caulk for the edges up against the house. The house was not plumb, and I didn't bother to put too much effort into making the structure plumb either. Maybe next time. Nevertheless, the finished product came out pretty nice:

 

 

We shall see how it holds up this winter. I am also hoping that the local power company appreciates how much nicer it looks. It would be a shame to have to take it down. With this task complete, I can now plan for the redesign of the back step, a job that I will undertake next summer.